Get ready for the Vista/SUSE smackdown!

In one corner, we have the champ -- Windows. Come January, it will come out swinging with what Microsoft tells us is the latest and greatest version ever -- Vista.

In the other corner, we have the challenger -- OpenSUSE 10.1, the latest shipping version of Novell/SUSE's community Linux. Sometime this summer, its commercial version, SUSE Linux Enterprise 10, will come out looking to KO the champ.

Before this epic battle begins, let's take a look at their training camps.

Deep in Redmond, Wash., Vista Beta 2 Build 5381 is training hard, one might even say frantically, as it tries to get ready for its January debut.

Those who have looked in on the champ have not been impressed. An experienced MS-NBC reviewer, for example, said "Installing Vista Beta 2 was one of the worst operating system experiences that I've ever encountered."

Your pugilistic reporter didn't find installing the champ in his ring that bad.